Badgerball defeats Eastern Illinois

It was a tale of two halves on Tuesday evening, as the Wisconsin
Badgers women's basketball team (2-5 overall) hosted Eastern
Illinois (1-6 overall). Wisconsin shook off a sluggish first half
to blow out the Panthers in a 78-52 victory.

\I think our basketball team did a very good job in the second half
of playing a very intense game."" said Badger Head Coach Jane
Albright.

In the first half of the game, the Badgers looked anything but
inspired. UW allowed the Panthers to shoot 48 percent from the
field in the first 20 minutes and many of the Eastern Illinois
points came off of back screens.

The Badgers entered the second half rejuvenated, picking up the
slack on defense. The Badgers used an aggressive defense to force
21 turnovers, which resulted in an additional 24 points for
UW.

Stephanie Rich led the Badgers with 14 points, dishing three times
z and pulling down four rebounds. Rich excited the Kohl Center
faithful with her range, going two for six on treys. Emily Ashbaugh
dominated the paint, scoring 13 and grabbing 12 rebounds, marking
her fifth double-double of the season. In order to contain the 6-5
junior center, the severely undersized Panthers often defended
Ashbaugh with two players.

The Badgers face Drake this Saturday, a team that made the Sweet
Sixteen in the 2002 NCAA tournament.